South Park’s Creators Share Their #1 Storytelling Tip

I just watched this super short clip of a talk given by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to some very surprised students at NYU.

According to these storytelling legends, here is biggest mistake writers make:

Writing one scene which connects to the next with, “And then.”

As in, “The man went to the store and then he came home and then he took his dog for a walk.”

See? Not very exciting.

Instead, they say, you should connect one scene to the next with either, “But” or “Therefore.”

Let’s try it.

“The man went to the store but they didn’t have ice cream therefore he had to go to a different store…”
Already there is more drama in this single sentence. 

“But” elicits conflict, and the story listeners love conflict! The human mind loves conflict. Conflict keeps the story moving. 

And “Therefore” gives us a reason. The human mind also loves reasons. Why do we do what we do? Why do we make the choices we make? 

Thanks, Matt and Trey. I was an avid South Park fan back in the day. Were you?

Aloha,

MeiMei

Writing Tip of the Week: Try the South Park Method

You can use this method even if you’re writing nonfiction! Trust me, even nonfiction book authors need to keep their readers engaged. 

• Write down a scene from your story on a piece of paper
• Connect it to the next with a “but” or a “therefore”
• Write the next scene
• Connect it to the next with a “but” or a “therefore”
• Watch the magic happen!

Quote of the Week: 

Without conflict, there is no story.

~Screenwriter / filmmaker / historical fiction novelist (and also my husband) Kiran Ramchandran